Having been accused of fabricating quotes by Morrissey, German news magazine Der Spiegel has released the full unedited audio of its interview with the former Smiths frontman. And, hey, it turns out he did say those things.

“Morrissey said in a Facebook post that Der Spiegel had incorrectly reproduced his statements, concluding that the fact that we have not yet published the recording of the conversation is an indirect admission of guilt”, said the publication. “To counter this, we have decided to put the interview online now – even if it is self-evident from our point of view that interviews published in Der Spiegel do not contain false or misleading citations”.

As previously reported, Morrissey has twice denied that he said a number of the things that were quoted in the original published interview. In a written statement over the weekend, he specifically denied that he’d said he would kill Donald Trump or that he defended Kevin Spacey against sexual assault accusations.

However, in the recording, he is heard to say that he would press a button to kill Trump if such a thing existed. He also suggests that the teenage boy who Spacey is accused of assaulting, and the teenager’s parents, should accept some responsibility for what happened. Other comments on Brexit, nationalism and Harvey Weinstein that were widely reported also feature the recording.

Gene Simmons has denied doing anything to warrant being banned from appearing on Fox News. Despite being banned from appearing on Fox News.

As previously reported, a source recently told The Daily Beast that Simmons had barged into a meeting at Fox after appearing on Fox Business’s ‘Mornings With Maria’ programme to promote his new book. It was claimed that he shouted “hey chicks, sue me”, and then tore open his shirt, before making jokes about Michael Jackson and paedophilia, and hitting two people on the head with his book.

Simmons subsequently said that the report was “highly exaggerated and misleading” but that he was “sincerely sorry that I unintentionally offended members of the Fox team during my visit”.

Now, speaking to BBC News’s ‘Hardtalk’ show, he denied that he did anything at all, saying: “Somebody there apparently had the goods in for me and called something called The Daily Beast or something and said whatever they said I did. I did nothing. I always had people around me. Like when I come here, I’ve got handlers and everybody sees what I’m doing. You can’t go into a public area and do anything”.

He added that Fox had “closed ranks” because the broadcaster is “afraid of getting sued by everybody”.

As for questions about further allegations of sexual misconduct made against the Kiss man in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, he said: “All of a sudden, 44 years on in a rock band, somebody’s coming up and saying, ‘This guy is a bad guy’. It’s not true. I think the climate is horrifically bad and yet at the same time empowering to the right women. There are some really bad guys out there, I just happen not to be one of them”.

Sometimes you forget that James Corden hosts a major late night chat show in the US now, don’t you? It just doesn’t seem like a thing that would happen. Well, last night we could all pretend it never did happen, because Corden was nowhere to be seen when the show went to air. Instead, that bloody Harry Styles was there, cracking jokes and grinning to the camera.

Styles stepped in to host the show at short notice after Corden’s wife Julia went into labour with their third child. Explaining his presence as the show opened, Styles said: “This is very exciting, just half an hour ago, James and his wife Jules had a beautiful baby girl. In fact, I was just at the hospital before I came to fill in, and she looks a lot like James. Mainly because James looks like a giant baby”.

He added: “I want you to know that I of course realise that this is James’s show and this is a one time only thing. Unless, CBS like what they see”.

If his success on the show does mean he becomes a permanent replacement for Corden, it could mean the end of Styles’ singing career. Which would be two birds, one stone I guess. Corden doesn’t seem too concerned though. He later thanked Styles for stepping in at “two and a half hours’ notice”.

Morrissey has issued a statement again refuting that he defended Kevin Spacey in a recent interview with Der Spiegel.

As previously reported, the musician was quoted by the German news magazine as saying that the victims of Spacey and Harvey Weinstein should take some of the blame for their alleged sexual assaults. Elsewhere, the publication also wrote him up as saying that it’s no longer possible to tell someone you like them without being accused of assault, that he would kill Donald Trump given the chance, and that that multiculturalism has made Berlin “the rape capital” of Europe.

In that statement, he says that he would not kill Donald Trump, and does not support Kevin Spacey, child abuse, sexual harassment or rape. He doesn’t mention Weinstein or his views on nationalism. Nor does he make any reference to similar comments apparently defending Weinstein and others quoted more recently by The Sunday Times.

But why would Der Spiegel fabricate an interview after going to the trouble of flying from Germany to the US in order to speak to him? Because Morrissey has the answers for how to make the world a better place and they don’t want us to know that. Or something. I’m not entirely clear about this next bit.

“In the world of music, as with politics, if you show any signs of being able to make a difference, you will be blocked, and you will have your arms tugged out from their sockets. In the same world of music, if you have nothing to say, if your brain is a mental frost and if your pointless songs are the eyes of a dead fish, then your number one position awaits unasked, and your five star reviews shall keep the press alive”.

If you made it to the end of that very long sentence, I think that was Morrissey claiming that gushing reviews are sustaining the media business at the moment. As opposed to interviews with controversial figures willing to shoot their mouths off at the drop of a hat. I’m pretty sure it’s the other way round, but whatever.

“Music is eternity, and the call of 2018 is the time to be new and different. But you must forget the print media who are infatuated with their own reflection and do not want yours”, he goes on. Der Spiegel means The Mirror. I’m not sure if he was making a reference to that there or if it was just nonsense.

Anyway, he continues: “Be eggless and brainless and cloudy and crap, and they’ll usher you through like a little bag of dung. Can you hear the wind between each ear?”

Returning to the point, he says that his team’s requests to be sent “unchopped, unfiddled-with audio” of the Der Spiegel interview have been refused. “Let that alone be your answer”, he concludes. I’m not entirely sure I remember the question.

Possibly motivated by the official CMU critique “not quite as God awful as we expected”, the BBC has announced it is ordering a second series of ‘Sounds Like Friday Night’, the broadcaster’s new prime time telly show that puts the focus very much on music. Mainly talking about music it often seemed, but they did remember to let some pop stars sing their songs in amongst the waffle.

“‘Sounds Like Friday Night’ has brought an incredible range of artists to the heart of the BBC One schedule”, declared the Corporation’s music boss Bobby Shennan, sounding a bit like Friday night himself, in that he said it on Friday. “We are hugely excited to recommission it for a second series”.

Meanwhile BBC Music’s commissioning chief Jan Younghusband said: “We are so delighted to continue this great new music series in spring 2018, bringing exciting new and established talent to our audience”.

‘Sounds Like Friday Night’ is a bought-in show for the BBC, of course, made by independent production company Fulwell 73. They are also delighted about the second series. “We’re so delighted to be bringing the show back in April”, said the company’s Gabe Turner, confirming all the delight.

“As passionate music fans, the chance to put music back on prime time terrestrial television has been an honour”, Turner added. “We’ve been blown away by the support of the industry and will continue to work as hard as we can to deliver a show that showcases some of the great music in the UK and the rest of the world”.

Although a spring series of ‘Sounds Like Friday Night’ is now confirmed, there’ll be no ‘Sounds Like Christmas Day’ special edition, with the BBC instead digging up the corpse of ‘Top Of The Pops’ for another festive outing. Though without Reggie Yates, of course.

Clara Amfo will be helping Fearne Cotton prop up the ‘TOTP’ cadaver on Christmas Day, instead of Yates. Providing she can go a whole fortnight without popping up on a podcast and uttering a racial slur. Which I’m sure she can. After all, Amfo’s a pro! Though she’s welcome to guest on next week’s ‘Setlist’ if she wants a stab at it.

Reggie Yates will not co-host this year’s Christmas editions of ‘Top Of The Pops’. Which reminds me, they still do Christmas editions of ‘Top Of The Pops’. What fun!

Apparently Reggie Yates has co-presented the BBC’s festive ‘TOTP’ outings in recent years, presumably as a special treat for all those people who have particularly fond memories of the latter years of the old pop music telly show. Which, at last count, was no one. So, I assume not too many people will be too disappointed by Yates standing down this time.

He has decided not to participate in the festive ‘TOTP’ specials following his recent appearance on a podcast in which he bigged up the current generation of new artists for being “managed by their brethren” rather than some “fat Jewish guy”. That latter remark was not especially well received.

Discussing the fallout that followed said podcast, Yates – again apologising for his choice of words – said on Twitter: “This has been, and continues to be, a huge learning experience for me, and on reflection I have taken the decision to step down from hosting ‘Top Of The Pops’ this year”.

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/reggie-yates-stands-down-from-totp-after-podcast-comments/feed/0Morrissey says he won’t do any more interviews (I know because I saw his mouth move)http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/morrissey-says-he-wont-do-any-more-interviews-i-know-because-i-saw-his-mouth-move/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/morrissey-says-he-wont-do-any-more-interviews-i-know-because-i-saw-his-mouth-move/#respondTue, 28 Nov 2017 12:10:41 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=161407

Morrissey has claimed that he will never do another interview with a print title ever again, which may be what finally kills that side of the media industry once and for all. I know that Morrissey said this – by the way – because I watched a video of him saying it. However, until you too watch that video, you should assume that I just made it up.

The singer announced his withdrawal from future interviews at a show in Chicago on Saturday, following reporting of that recent interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel. The interview picked up a lot of attention because in it Morrissey defended Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, suggesting that their victims were at least somewhat to blame. He also talked up Brexit, talked down multiculturalism, and claimed that the media is a form of social engineering.

Did he say all of that though? He would say no. Speaking to the audience at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre at the weekend, he said: “Let me just say this – that was the last print interview I will ever do. And unless you see the words form in my mouth and then you see the words or hear the words come out of my mouth – please, if you don’t see that, I didn’t say them”.

We were able to put that new rule into practice the following day when a new print interview with Morrissey was published by The Sunday Times. Presumably an entirely fictional interview.

In said interview it was written once again that Morrissey had claimed that the accusations of sexual harassment against numerous entertainment industry figures were being blown out of proportion. “Often it can be just a pathetic attempt at courtship”, he is quoted as saying.

“I’m sure it’s horrific”, it is claimed he then added. “But we have to keep everything in proportion. Do you not agree? I have never been sexually harassed, I might add”.

Morrissey, as you may remember, claimed two years ago that he had been sexually assaulted by a member of staff at San Francisco International Airport during a security check. He made this claim twice via his True To You fansite.

Which either proves that the entire Sunday Times interview is made up. Or that you can’t trust anything on True To You. Or that Morrissey just likes to say reactionary things and then disassociate himself from them afterwards. It could be any of the above. Or none of the above. I’m a journalist, so this entire article is probably all made up.

Indeed, given that you didn’t see my mouth form any of these words, you can probably assume that nothing in this story happened and I am just a figment of your imagination.

NME and Uncut owner Time Inc is set to be acquired by rival American media firm the Meredith Corporation via a deal agreed by the two companies’ boards last night.

Time Inc was a division of the Time Warner entertainment conglom for nearly 25 years, before being spun off as a standalone entity in 2014. Like most magazine publishers, the company has struggled as a result of the big shift from print to digital, with its titles talking to ever bigger audiences online, but finding it tricky to turn that online audience into decent revenue through either subscriptions or advertising.

There has been talk for a while now of Time Inc being bought by either another media group or private equity. The Meredith acquisition is, in some ways, a combination of the two, in that it is being part funded by a $650 million cash injection from the private equity wing of Koch Industries, which is owned by the sometimes controversial Koch brothers.

Although said Koch brothers are famous for their political manoeuvrings, mainly by funding American political groups and campaigns, Meredith insists that it will be a hands off investor in the media business, not even taking a seat on the board. Time Inc, unlike Meredith, is most famous, of course, for its current affairs and business titles.

The merger of Meredith and Time Inc, which it is hoped can be finalised in the first quarter of 2018, will inevitably result in some probably not insignificant downsizing, such economies of scale being the main thing that makes the deal attractive, given how challenging magazine publishing is at the moment.

That is likely to hit hardest in the US where the two companies both have significant operations, while it’s Time Inc’s UK division, of course, that publishes titles like NME and Uncut. Certainly Meredith Corporation’s main focus is currently Stateside.

Confirming the $2.8 billion deal, Meredith Corporation CEO Stephen M Lacy said: “We are creating a premiere media company serving nearly 200 million American consumers across industry-leading digital, television, print, video, mobile and social platforms positioned for growth. We are adding the rich content-creation capabilities of some of the media industry’s strongest national brands to a powerful local television business that is generating record earnings, offering advertisers and marketers unparalleled reach to American adults”.

He went on: “We are also creating a powerful digital media business with 170 million monthly unique visitors in the US and over ten billion annual video views, enhancing Meredith’s leadership position in reaching millennials”.

The longlist for the 2018 BBC Sound Of poll is out, so get your complaining hats at the ready as you mistake predictions for claims of actual knowledge of the future.

Voted for by over 170 pundits – including CMU’s own Andy Malt (that’s me), plus former nominees and winners Stormzy, Ellie Goulding, Years & Years’ Olly Alexander, Loyle Carner, Michael Kiwanuka and Ray BLK – the annual list of new acts people are excited about is now sixteen years old. For unrelated reasons, the longlist also features sixteen artists for the first time. There was a tie between two acts, so nothing birthday related at all.

As ever, the top five most tipped acts will be announced over the course of a week in early January – the week commencing 8 Jan to be precise – with the winner announced by Annie Mac on Clara Amfo’s show at 10am on 12 Jan. We will then all agree that this new artist will definitely be the most popular of 2018 and get on with our lives.

“I’m super excited to see so many young and innovative rising stars from around the world on this year’s Sound Of 2018 longlist”, says Mac. “Some acts will be brand new to UK audiences and many have already started to make an impact with us at Radio 1 and 1Xtra and out performing live. Countless numbers of talented artists have featured on previous Sound Of lists and I’m delighted by the level of talent presented again this year. I can’t wait to be a part of their journey and see what the year ahead has in store for them all”.

Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra’s Head Of Music Chris Price adds: “The BBC Music Sound of 2018 longlist is impressive for its strength and diversity. The stellar list of new acts here, many of whom have seen significant early support from Radio 1 and 1Xtra, fill me with confidence that 2018 will be an exciting year for emerging talent”.

But who are the sixteen acts every single man, woman and child in the UK will be listening to endlessly in 2018 (those are the rules, by the way)? Well, they are these:

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/bbc-sound-of-2018-longlist-announced/feed/0Nile Rodgers to play in the new year on BBC Onehttp://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/nile-rodgers-to-play-in-the-new-year-on-bbc-one/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/nile-rodgers-to-play-in-the-new-year-on-bbc-one/#respondThu, 23 Nov 2017 10:32:20 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=161307

Nile Rodgers and Chic will occupy the now traditional new year music slot on BBC One this year, performing before and after the midnight fireworks display on 1 Jan 2018.

They will run through a greatest hits set, made up of songs written for both Chic and other artists, such as David Bowie, Daft Punk, Diana Ross and Sister Sledge. This follows BBC Four’s recent three part documentary on Rodgers, which I hope you watched because it was very good.

“It’s been an incredible year for Chic in the UK”, says Rodgers. “From playing in to 200,000 plus people at Glastonbury to our recent sold out arena shows in London and Liverpool. This is a great way to end our 40th year in a spectacular fashion and kick off a new year that will start with the release of the first new Chic music in years and the new album. Good Times are coming in 2018!”

The BBC’s Special Events Editor Guy Freeman adds: “I am over the moon that Nile and Chic will be heading up our New Year’s Eve celebrations. With a host of timeless disco party classics on their setlist, I am sure that living rooms up and down the land will be boogieing along until the wee small hours!”

So the BBC Music Awards are still a thing. However, instead of putting on a big glitzy televised ceremony – yet another BBC event that competes with the music community it is meant to support – this year they’re just going to read out some names on BBC Two. Sounds like a better plan.

In a massive downsizing of what was, I think we can all agree, a monumental waste of everyone’s time and money, this year’s BBC Music Awards will be part of a programme titled ‘The Year In Music 2017’. The show, presented by Claudia Winkleman and Clara Amfo, will look back at the last year in music, tempting big names into the studio to tell some stories with the possibility of them winning some sort of trophy.

“Music on BBC television has gone from strength to strength in 2017”, says BBC Music Editor James Stirling, “with a record breaking 23 million viewers watching Glastonbury and the country coming together for the TV and radio simulcast of One Love Manchester, providing one of the most watched, and poignant, broadcast moments of 2017. This programme will revisit the music stories of the year, told by the musicians at the heart of them”.

Echoing that sentiment, Amfo adds: “2017 has been a huge year in music for both fresh and established artists, I’m really looking forward to hanging out with Claudia to look back at what it has given us, before we enter in to what I’m sure will be an even bigger new musical year”.

As usual, the prizes will be doled out to whoever is deemed to have made the best album, performed the best show, or just been the best artist overall. Despite it being talked up by James Stirling just there, the One Love Manchester show receives no nods whatsoever.

The show itself will include contributions from Stormzy, Foo Fighters, Nile Rodgers, Liam Gallagher, Dua Lipa, Sampha, George Ezra, Blossoms, Nick Grimshaw, Mistajam and Jo Whiley, among others. There’ll also be a special studio performance from Rag N Bone Man, but don’t take that to mean he’s won either of the awards he’s nominated for, it’s definitely all to play for.

‘The Year In Music 2017’ will be broadcast on BBC Two on Friday 8 Dec at 9pm.

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/bbc-music-awards-downsizing-for-2017/feed/0Global Radio further expands its network with two FM buys in the North Westhttp://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/global-radio-further-expands-its-network-with-two-fm-buys-in-the-north-west/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/global-radio-further-expands-its-network-with-two-fm-buys-in-the-north-west/#respondTue, 21 Nov 2017 11:45:17 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=161230

Having presumably woken up and suddenly realised there are still some radio stations in the UK that it doesn’t own, Global Radio has acquired two more local FMs in the North West, namely Lancaster-based The Bay and Kendal-based Lakeland Radio.

Global has bought the stations from local media firm CN Group, which used to own a small network of radio stations around the UK in addition to its newspaper business, but which sold off much of that network a few years back.

It’s not entirely clear yet what will now happen to The Bay and Lakeland Radio, though Global moved away from having local radio brands some time ago, instead preferring local outposts for its national brands like Capital, Heart and Smooth.

Confirming the deal, Global boss Ashley Tabor said: “I’m pleased to announce our acquisition of The Bay and Lakeland Radio. This deal will give us coverage in new areas of the UK and means we can take our radio brands to more listeners”.

Meanwhile CN Group Chair Robin Burgess added: “We believe that both The Bay and Lakeland radio stations’ future growth and success is best placed in a focused radio operation. We are delighted Global has seen the success, and future potential, the staff and management team have built thus far. Through Global’s scale and expertise, we believe both stations have a bright future and we wish them the very best for the future”.

Nearly 2000 women working across the Swedish music industry have put their name to a letter calling out overt sexism and sexual harassment in the country’s music sector, and demanding a change to the corporate culture that allows such behaviour.

The open letter follows the recent sexual abuse scandals that have rocked Hollywood in the wake of the allegations made against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Those accusations have, of course, resulted in a much more frank conversation about sexism and sexual abuse in the wider entertainment industry, political community and far beyond.

A number of allegations have since been made against both artists and music industry execs in various countries, though the open letter in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter more overtly puts the spotlight on a wider misogynistic culture in the country’s music industry that allows incidents of sexism and sexual harassment to become common place.

The letter has come together via a closed Facebook group where over 3000 women working in all strands of the Swedish music industry shared their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse. Some of those experiences, including some incidents of sexual assault, have also been published in Dagens Nyheter, taking the conversation to the world at large.

Among the 1993 women who have put their name to the open letter are artists, songwriters, DJs, artist managers, booking agents, PRs, music students and execs working at record labels, music publishers and in the live sector. Artists Zara Larsson, Carola, First Aid Kit, Robyn and Seinabo Sey are among the signatories.

Those who set up the Facebook group say that the gender equality initiatives launched by the music industry to date are insufficient, and that wider cultural changes are required. Both to allow women to speak out about sexual harassment without any fear of damaging their careers by doing so, and to tackle the sexism and sexual abuse that occurs within the music business.

The bosses of all three majors in Sweden have already issued comments on the letter, summarised by MBW here. They have each commended the women who have come forward to share such harrowing stories and have insisted that they will now seek to address the ongoing cultural and structural issues that allow such unacceptable behaviour to go unchallenged. Similar commitments will be required across the industry of course, and it will be interesting to see what measures are now introduced.

]]>http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/nearly-2000-women-call-out-sexual-harassment-and-abuse-in-the-swedish-music-industry/feed/0Setlist podcast ponders the death of the record labelhttp://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/setlist-podcast-ponders-the-death-of-the-record-label/
http://www.completemusicupdate.com/article/setlist-podcast-ponders-the-death-of-the-record-label/#respondMon, 20 Nov 2017 11:18:36 +0000http://www.completemusicupdate.com/?p=161192

This week’s Setlist podcast from CMU discusses the big news that all record labels are now redundant. Well, that was the fairly bold claim made in one article about new artist services company UnitedMasters, which – according to said article last week – is going to single-handedly replace the apparently now defunct multi-billion dollar, growing-annually, label-led record industry.

Billed as a revolutionary new way for artists to release their music and get back analytics to better service their fanbase, UnitedMasters has been set up by major label veteran Steve Stoute. It also arrives backed with $70 million of investment, including money from Google parent company Alphabet.

Far from being a total game-changer, UnitedMasters – Setlist presenters Andy Malt and Chris Cooke note – has a lot in common with existing artist services companies like TuneCore, CD Baby, Ditto Music, Kobalt’s AWAL, and possibly direct-to-fan set-ups like Music Glue. However, after stripping away all the hyperbole, they conceded the new business could still be interesting.

“As far as we can see, this company is going to offer digital distribution to artists, and then it’s going to have some data technology”, says Cooke. “The hope is that it’s going to pull some data off the streaming platforms and then help artists to sell tickets and merchandise. Then, once they’ve got all that data flowing, and they’ve got all those direct-to-fan relationships in place, they can then go to brands to get further backing for the artists”.

“Nothing here is particularly revolutionary or new, in that loads of people – including people at record companies – have been talking about this kind of thing for some time”, he goes on. Although, he adds, while “people have been doing some interesting stuff in this area” already, “it does feel like nobody has yet completely capitalised on these opportunities. So perhaps these guys, with their technical knowhow, will be innovators in this space”.

So, the death of the record label? “Even if it does all work, it has to be said, record companies still have a role to play”, Cooke adds. “Major record companies still have a role to play. But what is interesting about this, and all of the other companies that we’ve referenced here, is that there is now a great choice of business partners artists can work with on getting their content out there, marketing both the content and the artist’s brand, and raising money. And because there are now more companies doing that, the more traditional record labels are doing more flexible deals”.

Greater choice, and the ability to pick and choose services from different business partners, is definitely a good thing. Signing a traditional record deal is no longer the only option. But this does present it’s own challenges. Cooke notes: “What it does mean is, as a manager, as an artist, or as a lawyer working with artists, now you’ve got to make a choice. You’ve got to decide which of these companies is right for you”.

You can find out more about the array of label/distribution deals now on offer to artists in the newly published ‘MMF Deals Guide’, produced by CMU Insights. And you can listen to the full Setlist conversation about UnitedMasters, as well as chat about CISAC’s latest round of stats on global publishing royalties and Ryanair and YouTube getting into ticketing, here:

Professional contrarian and occasional singer-songwriter Morrissey has seemingly come out in defence of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. In a new interview with Der Speigel, he is quoted as saying that both men’s alleged victims should have been aware of what could happen if they went into someone else’s bedroom.

Asked about the numerous claims of sexual assault made against numerous men in the entertainment industry since the Harvey Weinstein scandal first broke, Morrissey says that it has now become “theatre”.

“All at once everyone is guilty”, he says. “Anyone who has ever said to someone else, ‘I like you’, is suddenly being charged with sexual harassment. You have to put these things in the right context. If I cannot tell anyone that I like him, how should he ever know?”

While quickly adding that he thinks “rape is disgusting”, he goes on to say that, in the current climate, “every person on the planet is guilty”, adding that some people are “very awkward when it comes to romance” and that their frustration and confusion around it can come across as “aggressive”.

On Spacey, he asked where the parents were of the fourteen year old he is alleged to have assaulted, referring to the first accusation made against the actor and director.

“One wonders if the boy did not know what could happen”, he remarks. “I do not know about you, but I’ve never been in situations like this in my youth. Never. I always knew what could happen. When you are in somebody’s bedroom, you have to be aware of where that can lead to. That’s why it does not sound very credible to me. It seems to me Spacey has been unnecessarily attacked”.

As for the accusations against Weinstein – particularly the allegations that he assaulted women after inviting them to his hotel room – Morrissey equally feels that the victims should share the blame.

“People know exactly what happens”, he is quoted as saying. “And they play along. Afterward, they feel embarrassed, or they do not like it. And then they turn it around and say, ‘I was attacked, I was surprised, I was dragged into the room’. But if everything had gone well and had it given them a great career, they would not talk about it”.

While again insisting that he hates “sexual situations that are forced on someone”, he says that in “many cases, one looks at the circumstances and thinks that the person referred to as a victim is merely disappointed”.

Elsewhere in the interview – in which Morrissey describes himself as “apolitical” – he calls Brexit “a victory for democracy”, he attacks the media for being used as “social engineering”, and says that he would kill Donald Trump if given the opportunity. He also claims that multiculturalism has made Berlin “the rape capital” of Europe. Yeah, it’s quite the interview, even by Morrissey’s standards.

“I want Germany to be German”, he continues. “I want France to be French. If you try to make everything multicultural, you will not have any culture in the end. All European countries have fought for their identity for many, many years. And now they just throw it away. I think that’s sad”.

Gene Simmons has reportedly been banned from Fox News for sexist behaviour in the US news network’s offices. The incident reportedly took place shortly after the Kiss bassist appeared on Fox Business’s ‘Mornings With Maria’ to promote his new book.

On the programme, he was asked for his view on the growing accusations of sexual assault against Harvey Weinstein. He replied: “The lunatics have taken over the insane asylum when respected business entities such as yourself ask guys that like to stick their tongues out what I think of Harvey Weinstein. OK, I’m a powerful and attractive man, and what I’m about to say is deadly serious. Men are jackasses. From the time we’re young we have testosterone. I’m not validating it or defending it”.

According to The Daily Beast, after this interview, Simmons went back into the Fox News office, barged into a meeting uninvited, shouted “hey chicks, sue me”, and then tore open his shirt. He is then reported to have made jokes about Michael Jackson and paedophilia, before hitting two people on the head with his book and commenting on their perceived intelligence based on the sounds this had made.

Until now a regular Fox News guest, a photograph of Simmons’ face has now reportedly been placed at the security desk at the entrance of the company’s Manhattan HQ marked “do not admit”.

Responding to the Daily Beast report, Simmons said in a statement: “I have appeared frequently over the years on various Fox News and Fox Business programmes and have a tremendous amount of respect for the talented women and men who work there. While I believe that what is being reported is highly exaggerated and misleading, I am sincerely sorry that I unintentionally offended members of the Fox team during my visit”.

Bauer Media announced earlier this week that it has headhunted the current editor of Uncut – published by its rival Time Inc – to head up its own monthly music title Mojo. John Mulvey will join the mag next year after thirteen years with Uncut.

He basically takes over from Phil Alexander, who spent a long time leading all things Mojo, in later years as part of a wider remit working on various music titles at Bauer. Back in August, Alexander announced he was joining Wasted Talent, to help expand the independent magazine publisher’s rock media operations which centre on Kerrang, the rock weekly the company acquired from Bauer earlier this year.

Commenting on his new job at Mojo, Mulvey said: “I’m really proud to have been offered the best job in British music journalism, and to be joining such a gifted and long-established team. For the last three decades, Mojo has been the essential read for serious music fans all over the world, a place of wisdom, insight and discovery that understands why great old records should always be cherished, and how great new records are being made every year. It’ll be an honour to uphold Mojo’s traditions and values and to lead it into the future”.

His new boss at Bauer, Patrick Horton, added: “I’m delighted that John is joining Mojo. His track record in quality music journalism and in creating great products for music fans has been proven over many years. John will be joining the world’s best music magazine at a pivotal moment as we develop and extend it to reach new audiences. I look forward to welcoming him into the Mojo team”.

Hurrah, the BBC has decided to air some coverage from someone else’s music event, rather than pretending it’s a promoter as well as broadcaster and putting on its own stupid festivals in a bid to fuck everything up for the music community it’s meant to support.

It’s the Eden Sessions that has secured some BBC love. The broadcaster is airing three performances that were staged as part of the Eden Sessions programme at the Eden Project in Cornwall earlier this year.

The first features Van Morrison and will air on BBC Four tonight at midnight, with sets by Madness and Bastille to follow in the coming weeks. Though don’t worry about the late time slot, they’ll all be available on the iPlayer too.

Says Eden’s Marketing Director Rita Broe: “It’s brilliant to give fans a chance to re-live these gigs and bring the Eden Sessions to a wider audience thanks to BBC Music. Van Morrison, Madness and Bastille were three massive highlights of an incredibly strong year for our summer shows”.

Amazon has announced a deal to secure the exclusive rights to stream a new animated short film based on Mariah Carey’s festive classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. The film is narrated by Carey, who also serves as its executive producer.

“I am THRILLED to have Amazon Prime Video as the exclusive streaming home of ‘Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You'”, says Carey, sticking to the film’s official full title even though it means referring to herself in the third person. “Amazon already brings my music to fans around the world, and now I am excited to share my holiday film with Amazon customers”.

The film, based on a children’s book of the same name, is available now to Amazon Prime members in the US and Canada.

Meanwhile, Carey has announced that the initial dates of her 2017 Christmas tour – which was due to begin in Canada tonight – have been cancelled, as she’s developed a respiratory infection. Yeah, I always get ill at Christmas too.

In a statement, Carey said: “Just in time for the holiday gift-giving season, it seems I’ve received a present of my own; a lovely upper respiratory infection after last week’s flu. You know there is nothing I love more than celebrating the holidays with my festive Christmas show, but I have to take my doctor’s orders and rest until he says I can sing on stage”.

Hey, remember when the BBC gave U2 a load of free promo for their 2009 album ‘No Line On The Horizon’, and everyone – even the BBC – said it was all a bit too much? Well, it’s happening again.

OK, actually, that’s not quite true. These are different times. Nowadays any appearance of actual music of any kind on BBC TV is welcomed by everyone in the music industry, like they just found water after three days lost in the desert. So I’m sure no one will moan that U2 are being handed the Beeb’s new semi-regular ‘have some free promotion for your new album’ slot on BBC One, which has been previously occupied by the likes of Adele, Michael Buble, Harry Styles and Sam Smith.

‘U2 At The BBC’ will be broadcast on the Corporation’s flagship channel at some point in December, presented by Cat Deeley. On the show, the band will play a few songs off their new album, ‘Songs Of Experience’, run through some old hits, and do a bit of chatting about their tax affairs. Well, maybe not that, but there will be chatting. And who doesn’t like chatting? Especially when it’s with Bono, who always seems like an alright guy in interviews, which just makes you hate him even more.

“U2”, says Deeley. And she doesn’t stop there. “Biggest band in the world. Stadium Rock Gods… and all round good eggs! I had the privilege of joining them on tour in Sao Paulo and now they’re coming back to the UK for an intimate show at Abbey Road Studios. I’ll be catching up with the band and there will be performances of brand new tracks and U2 classics. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I can’t wait!”

The BBC’s Head Of Commissioning for music TV, Jan Younghusband, adds: “We’re delighted to welcome U2 to the historic Abbey Road Studios, where they have previously recorded tracks. BBC Music is currently broadcasting a huge array of music on television, and the addition of ‘U2 At The BBC’ to this stable of programming is a coup, as we continue to put musicians centre stage on BBC television”.

Speaking of music on the BBC, have you all been watching ‘Sounds Like Friday Night’? Well you should, given how much you moaned about ‘Top Of The Pops’ being cancelled. It’s really not as bad as you’d think. OK, the sketches are terrible, and getting worse if anything. And I’m yet to actually watch it on a Friday night, so having a day in the title of the show seems like a bad choice.

But there is music on it. And you’re always saying that there’s no music on the TV anymore. You were saying it just now. But look at all this music on the TV that we’re talking about here. Make sure you watch all of it, then I’ll quietly walk away when it turns out that this was all just a ploy to finally cancel ‘Later’.

This week’s Setlist podcast from CMU kicks off with a discussion about Taylor Swift’s recent legal wranglings with politics and pop culture blog PopFront. And talk quickly turned to the way some big media law firms sometimes misrepresent the law so to help their wealthy clients attack the free speech of others.

As previously reported, Swift made headlines last week when her lawyers sent a threatening letter to PopFront, an up-to-then fairly little read blog. It accused the blog’s writer, Meghan Herning, of defamation, because she had published an article about how some members of the alt-right movement had expressed admiration for Swift’s music. The blog post reviewed the way alt-right supporters had interpreted Swift’s lyrics and also suggested that the video for ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ arguably used Nazi imagery.

Swift’s lawyers demanded the piece be withdrawn and a retraction published. But
Herning instead took the letter to the American Civil Liberties Union, whose lawyers stated that there was no case for defamation in relation to the article. The writer had simply reviewed conversations that were already happening elsewhere and added some of her own opinions, all of which is perfectly within the bounds of the law.

While stressing that he is not commenting on this specific case, CMU’s Chris Cooke nevertheless had some choice words for those media lawyers who do routinely send letters to blogs and independent media ordering that content be removed to avoid libel litigation, when the case for libel is, in fact, nonexistent.

“I’m not here to comment on this particular case”, Cooke says. “But I do find the ACLU’s arguments very compelling. And we ourselves have received legal letters on behalf of corporations or millionaire celebrities demanding content be removed, claiming defamation”.

“Sometimes I read these letters and I am pretty damn sure that there is absolutely no case for libel”, he goes on. “And I suspect that the lawyer doesn’t think that there’s a case for libel either. Which means they would never take this case to court, because they know there isn’t a case to put before a judge”.

He continues: “When studying for my law degree, I remember one of my lecturers remarking how, ‘the law is open to everybody, just like the Ritz hotel is open to everybody’. You assume what these lawyers are doing is saying, ‘Okay, we’ll send this stern letter and we’ll frighten them, or just for an easy life they’ll take the content down, and then our millionaire celebrity client or our big corporation client will get what they want and – hurrah – we can bill them for that'”.

“My perception on that is, if a lawyer is knowingly misrepresenting the law for the benefit of their millionaire client, that’s just wrong”, he says. “That shouldn’t be allowed. And if the legal profession had any credibility, which it doesn’t really, but any lawyer caught doing that – deliberately misrepresenting the law to force some content off the internet – they should be sacked. Because it’s a blatant assault on free speech”.

You can hear the full discussion on Taylor Swift’s battle with PopFront, plus conversations about the threat of closure facing Bristol music venue Thekla, Tidal adding detailed credits to tracks and albums on its platform, and more, here:

CMU’s Andy Malt and Chris Cooke review key events in music and the music business from the last week, including Taylor Swift’s cease-and-desist to a blog that published an article discussing the alt-right’s love of her music, why Bristol’s floating venue Thekla is under threat of closure, and how Tidal is leading the way in telling you who played bassoon on your favourite tracks. Setlist is sponsored by 7digital.

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News UK-owned radio firm the Wireless Group has announced it will launch nine (or seven, depending on how you count) new regional music stations on DAB, as well as no less than four Christmas-themed pop-up stations. You really never can have too many.

“This investment reinforces our commitment to local radio in our regions”, says Wireless Group CEO Scott Taunton. “We hear our listeners’ demands, and following research into their tastes and preferences we have committed to an array of exciting new stations. I’m confident they will prove to be in-tune with our listeners and advertisers alike”.

Local radio Programme Director Terry Underhill adds: “Whether you are after Christmas classics, 80s chart toppers, greatest hits or the best new music, our new non-stop music stations have got past, present, future and Christmas all wrapped up”.

Of the new permanent stations, which will all launch on 1 Jan, three are Scottish Sun branded (it being another News UK-owned media, of course) and will be available in Scotland only. Those are Scottish Sun 80s, Scottish Sun Hits and Scottish Sun Greatest Hits. Not sure why you’d tune into the hits station when you know there are greater hits on another channel.

Meanwhile, Wireless’s existing ‘Total Access’ youth show aimed at under 25s, which broadcasts each weeknight across its network, will be spun off into its own station, available in Staffordshire/Cheshire, South Wales and West Yorkshire.

The remaining three new outlets are Signal 80s in Staffordshire and Cheshire, Wave 80 in South-West Wales, Pulse 80s in West Yorkshire.

But what of these Christmas stations? Do we have to wait until 1 Jan to switch on to those? Hell no, three of those are all on the air from today. You can listen to Signal Christmas, Wave Christmas and Pulse Christmas right now in their various regions. And from next Friday, you’ll be able to listen to Scottish Sun Christmas in Scotland. Lucky you.

OK everyone, time to update the charts on your wall. It’s now fine to say ‘fuck’ on the radio at any time of the night or day. The only stipulation is that you must be in Canada. Oh, and you need to speak loads of French before and after you say it.

This story actually begins with the subject of a previous Beef Of The Week – Madonna’s speech at the Women’s March in Washington, DC back in January. And, specifically, a discussion about that speech on Montreal-based French language radio station CKOI-FM.

In this case, the issue was not Madonna admitting that she’d thought about blowing up the White House since the election of President Trump – although presenter Kim Rusk did express some concern about this – it was the clip of the speech broadcast in the middle of the afternoon, in which Madonna said: “And to our detractors that insist that this march will never add up to anything… fuck you”.

A listener offended by this repeated use of the good old f-word wrote to CKOI to complain. While the station did apologise for causing offence, it nevertheless refused to accept that it had done anything wrong. Partly on the basis that, as primarily a music station, listeners to CKOI would apparently be interested in anything Madonna might have to say, sweary or otherwise. But mainly because French-speakers, in general, don’t find the word “fuck” offensive.

“We acknowledge that some [sensitive] ears may be offended by that often-called ‘four letter word'”, the station wrote in its response. “However, in French culture, this word doesn’t arouse much reaction. We would even put forward that this English ‘dirty’ word is now, perhaps unfortunately, part of the common French spoken language”.

The complainant, identified as Mr F in correspondence, was not impressed by the response, and so took the matter to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in March.

“The broadcaster’s response consists in mostly justifying the use of the expression ‘fuck you’ on the air before telling me it judges me to be sensitive”, Mr F wrote to the regulator. “My perception of this reply is the broadcaster does not take me seriously and thinks I’m annoying. That is not an acceptable response”.

Later the same month, Mr F wrote to the CBSC a second time, angered that the f-word had appeared on the radio station during the day yet again. “They’re doing it on purpose”, he seethed.

In this case, the sweary pop star being quoted was Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and the appearance of the bad word on-air did seem slightly more gratuitous. After a listener said during a phone-in that they’d recently seen Green Day live, presenter Pierre Yves-Lord played a clip of Armstrong protesting after the band’s performance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival was cut short in 2012.

“What the fuck?! I’m not fucking Justin Bieber, you motherfuckers”, is what Armstrong said. But with Lord and the caller’s chat around it, it looks like this:

“That’s what legends are made of”, Lord said at the end there. More to the point, it’s what investigations into the use of inappropriate language by broadcast regulators are made of.

At the request of the CBSC, CKOI issued a response to this second complaint, reiterating that the word ‘fuck’ just isn’t all that offensive to French-speakers – this one French-speaker who keeps complaining excepted, of course.

“We reiterate the fact that the use of these words in French-language programmes does not have the same connotation as in English and does not attract much attention among Francophones today”, said the station. “These words have entered the popular parlance and the current vocabulary of the French-speaker”.

It went on: “They are commonly heard on private television and public television, in variety shows, soap operas and movies. They are read in rock music magazines, such as Classic Rock, Mojo, Record Collector, Uncut and many others. Although some may consider this situation deplorable, a language is both alive and reflective of its current society”.

In many ways, that seems like a very long-winded way of saying “fuck off”. It’s a shame they didn’t just say “fuck off”, because that would have been much funnier. I mean, Mr F wouldn’t have been happy with that response, but he wasn’t happy with the one he actually received either. The same day, he wrote to CBSC again, this time requesting a final judgement on the matter.

“The broadcaster keeps stating that it is all right to say ‘fuck you’ on a French radio station and that they are not held accountable to the same standards as everyone else”, the complainer wrote. “They use the expression very regularly; I think they favour its use because it was used on two days out of three last I listened to them”.

You might say that if this person dislikes the use of this word so much, they would be advised to just stop listening to this particular radio station. But perhaps they have no choice. Maybe Mr F hears it at work. Or perhaps it’s blasted out of loud speakers in the streets. I don’t know, but in either case he could check whether anyone else around him is offended.

Still, he continued: “I am still waiting on a ruling for the first complaint and I will ask for a ruling for the third complaint I made and I will continue until they stop using the expression ‘fuck you’ or you contact me with a relevant ruling”.

Well, Mr F, that day has come. CBSC’s panel of adjudicators has finally sat down and given it some thought. I’m not sure you’re going to be happy with the answer though.

The panel did note that Canadian broadcasting rules state that “reflective of local community standards” radio stations should avoid using “unduly coarse and offensive language”.

However, it went on to say that the matter of whether ‘fuck’ counts as “unduly coarse and offensive language” when heard during French-language broadcasts had already been addressed in another ruling last year. And in October 2016 the regulator ruled that the word had indeed become less offensive among French-speakers in recent years.

There were certain stipulations in that ruling though. The primary language of the broadcast must be French, it must be used infrequently, and it must not be used to insult or attack a specific group.

The panel concluded that both instances which had prompted Mr F to complain met these criteria, and therefore no rules had been broken. Which, I think, is another long-winded way of saying “fuck off”.

BBC local radio is the business. You know that, right? In fact, BBC boss man chief dude Tony Hall would like you all to know that local radio “is in the DNA of our communities” and, with that in mind, the Beeb remains committed to making it.

Indeed, so committed is Hall in his bid to show that the BBC isn’t some horrendous London-centric Brexit-bashing metropolitan monster that couldn’t give a flying fuck about making content just for “local people” out there in the “other places”, he even travelled to Coventry to say so. Brave man.

“I’m a Director General who believes in local radio”, Hall said yesterday at an event celebrating 50 years of BBC’s local radio services. “I recognise the unique value the BBC locally can bring. We’re an organisation that’s global, national and rooted in our local teams. Local radio is in the DNA of our communities. I think that is more important than ever”.

But hey, isn’t the BBC forcing massive cuts on its local radio network having already networked some of the local stations’ programmes to cut costs? Ha, you’re wrong! Hall told his audience that previous plans to cut £10 million from local radio budgets had been canned, and that the evening show that is currently networked across the Beeb’s local radio network in England will be replaced with new locally made programming.

“For many years the BBC has been reducing its investment in local radio”, Hall conceded. “The development of new technology … has seen many people getting their local news, weather and traffic information digitally. But the rise of digital technology has also seen the rise of fake news, not just on a global level but on a local one as well. That’s why the role of BBC local radio is actually becoming more important – not less”.

BBC local radio is just for old people though, right? And I have it on good authority they’ll all be dead soon. “No!” reckons the DG. “Local radio should be for everybody. It’s there to serve the Facebook generation every bit as much as the rest of us”. See? Not just for old people. Though he’s deliberately excluding the Snapchat generation, I see. Wise move. Fuck them.

“My ambition for BBC local radio is for it to have more creative freedom”, Hall concluded, “to celebrate local life, to be the place where we report local news but also the place we reflect local identity, nurture local talent and engage local audiences through digital platforms. I want to see a renaissance in local radio”.